Thursday, July 7, 2011

keeper of my heart. a big giveaway.

the giveaway is now over.

thank you for your donations!!

************************************************

my ben boy.
sweet little monkey.
wild, blue-eyed, keeper of my heart.

you all know how much i love this kid, don't you?
becoming ben's mommy changed every inch of my being.
he opened my eyes, worked his magic in my stubborn brain, stretched my heart a mile wide.
and because of ben, i was led to davis.

i want him to come home.
i want him to be with us, his family.
i want him to be able to start living the life that's waiting for him.
i want to see him thriving.
in order for him to do that, we have to step out of our comfort zone and ask for help.

this is the hardest thing for me to do.
but we cannot do this on our own.
we need YOUR help.

i know you're thinking, "another fundraiser?! ugh. but i just gave to that other kid!"
and you're right, there have been quite a number of fundraisers lately.
there are a lot of families who need our help. but that's because there are a LOT of children that need our help.

147 million, in fact.

and i am astounded at the number of families who are in the adoption process right now.
it's AWESOME.
and our son davis, well, he needs your help as much as the next kid.

so to entice you, to sweeten the deal, to up the ante, we put together a super fundraiser right here on the blog!

i present to you a ridiculously amazing bunch of items we are giving away!
here are the GOODS!

first up for grabs, the BIGGIE. the most coveted piece of technology on the planet: the iPAD2.

how about a $100 gift card to amazon.com?

or a total blog makeover from life made lovely designs valued at $130?
this custom lovely package includes a header, background, navigation bar, 3 sidebar buttons, and a blog button with scroll box.
here are some awesome examples of their designs (they also did my blog redesign and i couldn't be happier!):

i'm just going to start listing these awesome prizes because the cuteness can talk for itself!

*child-size apron and blue pennant banner, both from beanstalk by izzy. i could buy everything in this shop.

*a set of 4 kitty crayons and a printed coloring book from kitty baby love. makes the perfect bday present!

*your choice of one reusable snack bag from sew long ziploc. i send the kiddos' snacks to school in these and they are awesome. no more buying plastic baggies!

*an 8x10 things i'm thankful for print from laura george. this print must go in the little boys' room! MUST.

*$15 shop credit to vintage shop lemon tree vintage. she has such great prices and neat finds!

*$50 to be spent on any illustration, including prints or originals, or one birthday set, including 10 personalized invitations, 10 personalized thank you cards, and 10 gift tags ($46 value). all from lila b/noulou, adorable. just plain adorable.

*autographed book Freundschaft by amazing photographer conny wenk. conny knows from personal experience how kids with down syndrome are all rock stars in their own right!

*three winners can each choose an unframed print of their choice from gifted illustrator lori mcdonough of whimsy studios. lori is mad talented and her work makes me SMILE!

*$50 shop credit for party supplies and other awesomeness from tomkat studios. brace yourselves. this stuff is nutty cute.

pretty fun, huh? i know!!

this is a fundraiser after all, so here's how you enter:

all it takes is $10.
10 beans.
10 duckets
10 smackeroos.
for every $10 you donate, you get one entry thrown in the hat.
feeling especially generous?
for every $50 donated, you will be rewarded with 20 entries!

got that?
$10 = 1 entry
$50 = 20 entries

i set up a chipin donation link over there on the sidebar (at the tippy top, under my picture).

if you click on it, it will take you to a website where you can make a SECURE donation directly to our family.

this is important for one big reason:

this money will be used to complete our paperwork and adoption agency fees necessary BEFORE we travel to davis' country. our reece's rainbow account money will only be made available when we are ready to travel and that makes it almost too late!

wanna earn more entries?
facebook or blog about the giveaway, leave a comment telling me you did so and earn one more entry.

the giveaway will run for TWO WEEKS.
after two weeks is up, i will close the comments and dish out the prizes.

please, please, please spread the word to your friends and family!
and remember, the more $ you give, the better your chances to win one of these awesome prizes!

lastly, our family is overwhelmed and deliriously happy over the generosity of the etsy shop owners and friends who have contributed to this giveaway.
we are forever indebted to each of you.
big hug.
little kiss.
big kiss.
little hug.

now...go!
let's see where this takes us!
the jupin fam

***edited to add: everyone is welcome to donate, but items cannot be shipped overseas! sorry! :)

and 20! Hope I did this right. Let me know if I didn't. I think this is such an AWESOME thing you are doing. I can't remember how I found your blog, but it looks like you are from AL. I was born and raised in Huntsville : ) (but now live in CA). BEST of luck!!

You stop my heart and then for a moment, it started to grow and by the time I was done, it four times bigger. I had to make room for those two sweet little boys and their wonderful family. I hope Davis comes home soon!

Just added your cause to my etsy store, http://rope.etsy.comAnd I wanted to let you know that I am dedicating 25% of sales for the next week to go to your family. (You don't have to give me another entry for this. I just wanted to let you know.)A Sister in Christ, Anna

Just sent you our first donation: $50! So happy to do this for you, Amy and family! And here is the article I wrote for my blog in case anyone wants to see:http://lassothemoon.typepad.com/lasso_the_moon/2011/07/purpose.html

I happened upon your site completely by chance this morning and was so touched by your story that I just made a $50 donation! Good luck to you and your family! I am also going to blog about it right now!

just found you through meg's blog and am so glad i did! i have a son with Ds also. his name as wil and, like you with your boy, he has changed me! will donate what i can and will then post this on facebook. wishing you blessing upon blessing as you wait on your son to come home!

I blogged all about your awesome fundraiser and then almost forgot to come donate myself. :) Just donated $50. Thanks for letting us be a part of bringing Davis home. He is a sweetie and your family is awesome!

Wow! Your total has jumped since I checked in last! Praise the Lord! We just did our 2nd donation ($20.35), but we are not done. We'll be raising money for you until Davis is home. Thanks to my customers for choosing this week to buy! Anna (rope)

I can't donate this time, but I can give my prayers. So glad to have found your site. I hope that you get enough to make it!!! You have a big heart, this is a wonderful site and I look forward to following it.

You had a lot of interesting items listed in your fundraiser. I am trying to arrange something online for an upcoming missions trip to Africa but I'm still new in the blogging world. How did you secure all these items? Did people contact you or you them? Thanks for any and all tips :)

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results."
Albert Einstein

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
Melody Beattie“…when some doctor tells you “Your child won’t…” or “Don’t get your hopes up,” don’t you dare sell your child out and buy into that… defeatist attitude. Sometimes all it takes is a belief that it can happen, the determination to create the possibilities —the right environment, the right people— and the ability to love your child more than you fear their labels and limitations.”
Niksmom, Maternal Instincts blog

"It was my child who taught me to understand so clearly that all people are equal in their humanity and that all have the same human rights. I might never have learned this in any other way. I may have gone on in the arrogance of my own intolerance for those less able than myself. My child taught me humanity."
Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author, Pearl S. Buck

“The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”
Anna Quindlen, Author

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Albert Einstein, Inventor